THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



229 



croscope. The male and female aic of great 

 size, in comparison with the workers. In my 

 artificial formicaries the big-headed soldiers work 

 vigorously, and so do the winged queens. — G. K. 

 Morris, Vineland, N. J., June 10, 1S80. 



P. S. — July 15. — Further study has demon- 

 strated the fact that I discovered two species of 

 harvesters on the same day, though the specific 

 dllferences escaped my notice for a few days. I 

 send you the larger one. The other is from a 

 half to one third the size of this. Mrs. Treat 

 thinks it may even belong to a different genus, 

 but in this she doubtless errs. — G. K. M. 



Answers to Correspondents. 



[We hope to make this one of the most interesting and in- 

 structive departments of the Entomolu(;ist. All iinpiirics 

 .iboiit insects, injurious or otherwise, should be accompanied 

 by sjiecimens, the more the better. Such specimens, if de.id, 

 should be pacl<ed in some soft material, as cotton or wool, and 

 inclosed in some stout tin or wooden bo.x. They will coiiie 

 by mail for one cent per ounce. Insects should Nli\ER Bi'. 



ENCLOSED LOOSE IN THE LETTER. 



Whenever possible, larvse (/. c, grubs, caterpillars, maggots, 

 etc.! should be packed alive, in some tight tin box — thetighter 

 the better, as air-holes are not needed — along with a supply of 

 their appropriate food sufficient to last them on iheir journey : 

 otherwise they generally die on the road and shrivel up. If 

 dead when sent, they should be packed in cotton moistened 

 with alcohol. .Send as full an account as jiossible of the habits 

 of the insect respecting which you desire information ; for 

 example, what plant or plants it infests ; whether it destroys 

 the leaves, the buds, the twigs, or the stem ; how long it has 

 been known to you ; what amount of damage it has done, etc. 

 Such particulars are often not only of high scientific interest 

 but of great practical importance.] 



Worm infesting Meal Sacks. — Will you 

 please give me the name of the inclosed larva\ 

 They were found within the folds of a sack used 

 to hold oats, corn and meal, and " shorts," and 

 on the outside of the sack. Each larva was cov- 

 ered with a silk-like covering, which was attached 

 to the sack by a broad surface. — James Green- 

 wood, Jr., West Boylston, Mass, 



The pale worms with rows of minute spots of 

 a more dusky color, each giving rise to a hair, 

 and with a brownish-yellow head and cervical 

 shield are the larvje of Efhestia zea. This is a 

 little moth which Dr. Fitch called the Indian- 

 meal moth and of which he gave a figure in his 

 Second Report as Stale Entomologist of New 

 York (1S57). It is characterized by the basal 

 third of the wings being of a pale cream color, 

 wliilc the outer two-thirds are of a more obscure 

 reddish-gray. This worm is almost omnivorous 

 and feeds with equal relish on all sorts of dried 

 animal and vegetable substances, being, however, 

 particularly fond of grains and fruits. We have 

 found it quite injurious to old English walnuts 

 and pecans, the larva always eating out at the 

 suture at the base of the nut before spinning its 

 cocoon. It is likewise to be found in cinnainon 

 bark, while if it once gets in a cabinet of insects 

 it does much injury by feeding upon the mounted 

 specimens. It also injures old books that are 

 not often handled. It cannot of course multiply 

 in grain or meal that is kept well protected and 

 fresh, or in sacks that are in constant use. 



Hesperid Larva Feeding on Canna. — I send 



you by the same mail as this, a moth, the larva 

 of which was taken from a Canna leaf. Please 

 inform me in regard to it. — N. S. Reed.Chand- 

 lerville, III., July 10. 



The insect is a large-bodied butterfly, belong- 

 ing to the family of Skippers (Hesperidas), and is 

 known to science as Pampliila cl/i/ius Cram. 

 The same species was sent to us some time ago 

 from South Carolina, where the larva utterly de- 

 stroyed some luxuriant plants of Canna Jlaccida. 



Grape-vine Apple-gall.— I send in paper box, 

 by this mail, a gall found on summer wild grape- 

 vine, also a green beetle, from Pigeon Mountain, 

 in this county ; also a gall from Ives Seedling, 

 with smaller leaf attached.— A. R. McCutchen, 

 Lafayette, Walker Co., Ga. 



The green, succulent excrescences on the pe- 

 tioles of grape leaves, the one (from Ives Seed- 

 [Fig. 119.] 



GliAi'E-viNK AprLE-GALL: a, whole and detached from 

 vine ; b. do, cut open and showing cells and larva;— nat. size 

 (.ifter Riley). 



ling) looking like a tomato, the other (from wild 

 grape-vine), more like an apple, are the grape- 

 vine apple-gall {C.vitis-poninin W. and R., Fig. 

 119), and are caused by a species of gall-gnat, 

 probably of the genus Cccidomyia. The green 

 beetle you enclose is the Rummaging Calosoma 

 [Calosoma scrutator Fabr.) It is a very beneficial 

 insect, as it feeds upon caterpillars and other in- 

 jurious insects. 



Apple-tree Plant-lice in Oregon.— Enclosed 

 you will find a small limb, taken from an apple- 

 tree that is covered with a kind of lotise, that 

 will absolutely destroy our apple and pear trees. 

 They propagate themselves on the plum, cherry, 

 ash, and willow, also ; but not so extensively as 

 on the apple and pear. Will send the terminus 

 of a limb of this year's growth, to show you how 

 fatal they are to anything they touch. There are 

 millions, yes, billions ; they fill the air many 

 times. 



Please tell me their name, and give a remedy. 

 I have given no descriptions. I think that you 

 can see them in all their stages of life in the 

 sample. Hoping to hear from you soon, I re- 

 main yours.— H. B. May, Oregon City, Or., July 

 12. 



The apple leaf you send proves to be badly 

 infested with a species of Plant-lice, apparently 

 Aphis niali. But, as the insects were all dead 

 and dried up when received, it is impossible to 

 positively determine the species. A good remedy 

 for these plant-lice is to thoroughly syringe the 

 infested trees with strong soap suds. This rem- 



